Chandigarh, February 10
In yet another twist to the controversy shrouding Ashutosh Maharaj, his “ex-driver” Puran Singh today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court again, seeking his medical examination by a team of doctors from the PGI or any other reputed government institution.

He insisted that the earlier examination on the basis of which he was declared “clinically dead” was carried out by private doctors, including an eye surgeon. The plea came less than a fortnight after the Punjab Government told the high court that Ashutosh Maharaj was “clinically dead” even as his organisation claimed that the spiritual head had gone into samadhi or deep meditation.

In his plea, Puran Singh demanded that the medical examination be carried out in the presence of media. Describing him as a detainee, Puran Singh insisted that his medical examination should also be telecast live so that his followers could have his “darshan” as none was allowed to enter the room where he was kept “concealed”.

This, he said, was essential so that the truth may come out in view of the “contradictory stands”.

Elaborating, he said the Punjab Government concluded that he was spiritually dead on the basis of the report prepared by “private doctors from different places”. One of them was an eye surgeon with Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan. His clinic was, in fact, named Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Eye Clinic. Another doctor was running his clinic in Chandigarh.

The plea will come up for hearing on Tuesday, along with habeas corpus petition filed by Puran Singh for the spiritual head’s production. In his petition, Puran Singh had earlier told the court that the spiritual leader was being detained illegally as five of his followers had “turned greedy”.